The Pendulum

I see the pendulum swinging, always to one side or the other, rarely does it rest in the middle. The pendulum I speak of swings between grace and faith. It seems people want one or the other, but rarely a mix. They want to lean to one side or the other, but not balance between.

Ephesians 2:8

For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God.

I see a mixture of grace and faith here. I see balance. It does not just say we are saved by grace, it says by grace, through faith. And grace is not just for salvation. This is how we get through each and every day--by God's grace, through our faith. This is how we do anything we do--by God's grace and through our faith.

It is when the pendulum stops in the middle, it is at rest. This is the place of rest mentioned in Hebrews 3 and 4, and the yoke mentioned by Christ in Matthew 11:29-30.

I see many that latch on to the faith aspect, they want to do something, but then they discount the grace side. They do things in their own strength and don't give God the glory. Or they give God the glory, but turn around and tell others how to rise above and don't include the key detail of God's grace.

It seems grace isn't welcome in a lot of churches. Pastors would rather tell their flock about faith, what they can do, but without grace this is just willpower. The word grace has become taboo because, to a lot of pastors it is equated with sinful living. If people know all about God's grace, they will just do whatever they want! But we can't pick and choose topics from the Bible, like it's a salad bar. We must teach the whole counsel of God. Teaching faith without grace is humanism that has crept into the church.

Grace is what Paul is talking about in Galatians 5:16. When you rely on God's grace, and take the step of faith He is asking of you, you will be empowered by His spirit, to rise about the lusts of the flesh.

Remember Rahab in the city of Jericho (Joshua 2). The two spies came to scope out the city. She told them she believed they knew the one true God and asked them to spare her family. She has faith here. The spies tell her they will spare her if she will hang a scarlet cord out of her window. She does--that is the act of proving her faith (James 2:17). Her family is spared (saved) by grace, through her faith.

Remember Moses with the Israelites at the Red Sea (Exodus 14). They were cornered with no way out. The Egyptian army was behind them, they had mountains on each side and in front of them was the Red Sea. God already told Moses He would save the Israelites. Moses had faith in God's promise. God tells him to lift up his rod. Moses obeys--this is the act of proving his faith. God parted the Red Sea and the Israelites traveled through to safety. God saved them by His grace, through their faith.

Remember Joshua preparing to conquer the city of Jericho (Joshua 6). God promised the Israelites the land over 400 years earlier. Joshua believes this, as he told Moses 40 years earlier, when he was one of the 12 spies. And God confirmed this word to Joshua just before this battle. God tells Joshua to have the army and the priests march around the city of Jericho. How very strange? They were to march around the city once each day for six days. Then on the seventh day, they were to march around seven times and then blow their trumpets. All of this was what proved their faith. God brought the walls crumbling down. God gave them the victory by grace, through their faith.

One thing I see in all three of these stories is how miniscule the part we have to play. We do have to act, we do have to obey, we do have to step out in the natural, but it's always something so much smaller than what God is going to do. That way, there is no question who did the saving, who gets the glory. And our step is not of our doing. It's not something we make up. This is not where you set rules for yourself. You will end up breaking your own made up rules. For example, "God I really need you to help me out. I promise to read my Bible an hour a day." We are not bargaining with God, or manipulating Him. We are asking for His help. He will ask you to take a small step, to test your faith. You take that step, and then His grace kicks in and empowers you to overcome.

The pitfalls I see of using my faith, without acknowledging God's grace--it's all me, this leads to pride, I'm not as likely to give God glory and trust in Him, I trust in myself. I do achieve a pseudo-abundant life, but it's a false success, built on a sandy foundation. There are not many storms, because I have chosen to build my house in the prime location, far from the beach. After all, life is all about my choices, right? But one day the storm will come, something big that is out of my control. Then my house will come crashing down because I have been in the habit of fixing things myself, not turning to God. Hopefully at that moment I will repent and see my need for God. If not, I may blame God, when it wasn't His fault.

The pitfalls I see of solely relying on God's grace, yet never exercising faith--I don't have to do anything, Jesus did it all (and that is true, but we have to prove our faith), I don't have to commit to church, I don't have to study my Bible, I don't have to ask you for forgiveness, because God forgives me. I don't have to teach my children, God's grace will keep them in church. I stay bound up in my strongholds, I never see true freedom. I never achieve the abundant life, because I never build any foundation. The wind and the waves tear my house down in every storm. Hopefully, during one of these storms, I will think to ask God what I need to be doing, to show Him I do have faith.

I hope you see that you will walk in victory, you will be building on the rock (see Matthew 7:24-27) only when you walk in the balance of grace and faith. It is shifting sand on either side of the middle. This is a moment-by-moment, day-by-day decision. We will all be tempted at one time, or another, to shift to either side. If you do, simply repent, and get back on track.

Book Review: Sun Stand Still

Do you want to know what faith is? Do you want to know what faith is capable of? Is your faith capable of commanding the sun to stand still in the sky?

Sound arrogant? Sound like another "name it and claim it" type book? Sound irreverent and manipulative?

I have to admit, I thought all those things before I read this book. I thought it would be a lot of hype and not a lot of substance. I thought it would be a lot of hope, without much real talk of faith.

Boy was I wrong!

"Faith isn't just a 'Get Out of Hell Free' Card." This quote is from chapter one. This quote had my bias quavering.

"It's not about thinking you can get God in your back pocket so that you can manipulate Him for your own purposes." I read this in chapter two. Okay, I'm setting aside my bias and getting very interested.

Right from chapter one the emphasis was more on serving God, rather than "what can God do for me."

The core passage Steven Furtick uses throughout the book is Joshua 10. This is an awesome story of Joshua leading the Israelites into the Promised Land. This chapter details the third battle they had to fight, in Gibeon. The detail that makes this story so great is found in verses 12 and 13. Joshua commanded the sun to stand still in the sky, so his army could keep on fighting. Subsequently, they won the battle. What an audacious (a word Furtick uses often) thing to do!

Furtick explains that we, too, can pray "Sun Stand Still" prayers.

"The same power that stopped the sun and raised Christ from the grave lives in every believer." Amen!

He explains it starts with having a vision--a plan or goal. "If the dream in your heart isn't biblically based, focused on Jesus, affirmed by the key people in your life, and tethered to your passions, gifts, and life experiences, chances are, you're way off prompt." People perish for lack of vision. Proverbs 29:18 KJV

God has a purpose for each one of us. "Seizing His big purpose for your life is not just about figuring out what God wants from you and getting down to business. It's also about becoming intimately acquainted with who Jesus is. It's about mining the depths of who you are in Him. And out of that revelation, you will fulfill the purpose that He put you on the earth to fulfill." Amen and amen!!!

He emphasizes this is not something you do in your own strength. And I love that, because John 15:5 says without Jesus we can do nothing.

And this isn't just for pastors and leaders. "There are certain phrases I'd like to see permanently banned from our Christian vocabulary. The one that sets me off the most is 'full-time ministry'."

He connects real-life experiences, like playing with his son in the ocean, and his wife delivering one of their babies, to foundational concepts of God's kingdom, making this book very easy to read and understand.

But what about being arrogant with God? "Confidence without humility is arrogance. Humility without confidence is weakness." Furtick explains how we can come boldly before God and ask for things that are according to His will. See Hebrews 4:16 and I John 5:14.

"Audacious faith is more than an attitude. It's much more than simply believing in yourself and what you are capable of. True faith is founded on what you believe about God and what he is capable of."

Furtick definitely has a very different personality than me, and it comes through in his writing, but the core message is the same as I preach on my blog. Dig into God's Word, find out what His will is for your life, without faith it's impossible to please God, and faith without works is dead! His theology is practically spot-on, with one exception. In chapter 13 he implies that healing may not be God's will for everyone. I have to disagree with this point.

Check this book out, you won't be sorry you did. You can buy it on Amazon.com and Walmart.com.

Click here to read chapter one.

I received this book for free from WaterBrook Multnomah Publishing Group for this review.

A Running Theme (Pun Intended)

II Timothy 4:7-8 (NLT)
I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, and I have remained faithful. And the prize awaits me--the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will give me on the day of His return. And the prize is not just for me but for all who eagerly look forward to His appearing.

Paul is at the end of his life. He knows this is the end, he is about to be executed. He is confident that he has fought the good fight, finished the race, and remained faithful. Do you want to be able to say that at the end of your life? That you fought the good fight? That you finished the race, you didn't quit? That you remained faithful?

In another translation the part about remaining faithful is translated kept the faith. So if Paul is saying he kept the faith, is it possible to lose it? This brings up many questions, such as, can you lose your salvation? Can we become disqualified in any way? Paul was concerned about that in I Cor. 9:27.

I Corinthians 9:24
Do you not know that those who run in a race all run, but one receives the prize? Run in such a way that you may obtain it.

If there is a way to run to obtain the prize (and what is that anyway?), then there must be a way to run to hinder yourself from obtaining the prize.

This verse gives us a clue:

Hebrews 12:1-3
Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a huge crowd of witnesses to the life of faith, let us strip off and throw aside every weight that slows us down, especially the sin that so easily trips us up. And let us run with endurance the race God has set before us. We do this by keeping our eyes on Jesus, the author, source, and finisher of our faith. Because of the joy awaiting Him, He endured the cross, ignoring the shame. Now He is seated in the place of honor beside God's throne. Just think of Him who endured such grievous and bitter hostility from sinners, so that you may not grow weary and give up.

This one, too:

Acts 20:24
Nothing moves me, nor do I count my life dear to myself, so that I may finish my race with joy, and the ministry which I received from the Lord Jesus, faithfully to attest to the good news of God's grace.

And this one:

Philippians 2:16
I will hold fast the Word of life, so that I may rejoice in the day of Christ that I have not run the race in vain or labored in vain.

Throw aside sin, it trips you up, you can only do that by keeping your eyes on Jesus; don't let anything move you, or count your life dear; and hold fast the Word of life!

Now, this is not about achieving perfection:

Philippians 3:12-14
I have not achieved or reached perfection, but I press on to possess that perfection for which Christ Jesus has laid hold of me and made me His own. I have not grasped it yet, but one thing I do, I forget what lies behind and look forward to what lies ahead, I press on to reach the end of the race and receive the heavenly prize for which God, through Christ Jesus, is calling us.

This is about pressing on, forgetting what lies behind, and looking forward to what lies ahead.

Notice every one of these verses mentions a race. How is your race going? Are you running? Are you moving forward? I don't think you can sit still in this race. I think you are either going forward or backward. As a Christian, does your behavior matter? Didn't God forgive all your sin when Christ died on the cross? And what about the prize mentioned in so many of these verses? Stay tuned...

(Note: Some of these verses may be a combination of translations.)

Happy New Year!

When I think of New Year's Resolutions, I think of this verse -

James 4:13-16

Come now, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will go to such and such a city, spend a year there, buy and sell, and make a profit”; whereas you do not know what will happen tomorrow. For what is your life? It is even a vapor that appears for a little time and then vanishes away. Instead you ought to say, “If the Lord wills, we shall live and do this or that.” But now you boast in your arrogance. All such boasting is evil.

For this very reason, I really enjoyed reading Greg Laurie's article on New Year's resolutions. I think you will profit from reading it. I love that he mentions the race. That is my theme lately and I will posting shortly on that very topic.